fallen verses

or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Not-Working

LOLTHULHU
(via Pharyngula)
Delusional Social Networkers

No, this is not another rant about people who hallucinate power laws; this is about social networks which are constituted by sharing the same (or, rather, similar) delusional beliefs:Vaughan Bell, C. Maiden, A. Munoz-Solomando and V. Reddy, “‘Mind control experiences’ on the internet: Implications for the psychiatric diagnosis of delusions”, Psychopathology 39 (2006): 87–91 [pdf]

Abstract
Background: The DSM criteria for a delusion indicate that it should not include any beliefs held by a person’s ‘culture or subculture’. The internet has many examples of people reporting ‘mind control experiences’ (MCEs) on self-published web pages, many of which suggest a community based around such beliefs and experiences. It was hypothesised that some of these reports are likely to reflect delusional beliefs and the hyperlinks between web reports were likely to show evidence of social structure, demonstrating the ‘culture or subculture’ exemption to be increasingly redundant in light of new technology.

(via MindHacks)

Majority of Marriages End Before 25 Years, Census Finds

By SAM ROBERTS
Published: September 19, 2007 Don’t stock up on silver anniversary cards. More than half the Americans who might have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversaries since 2000 were either divorced, separated or widowed, according to a census survey released today.

(From the New York Times)

(via Pharyngula)